Modern mixology is an art, skill and science
By Pam George
Frequent guests at Bar Reverie in Greenville can’t help but notice the chemistry between mixologists Jake Richman and Susan Hallak, who appear perfectly in sync behind the white-topped bar. If they’re more than a little flirty, that’s OK; the coworkers are also romantic partners. Moreover, they’re collaborators on the cocktail menu. These days, that’s no easy task.
“It’s all about elevating ingredients, elevating the experience,” says Hallak, who met Richman behind the bar of Taco Grande on the Wilmington Riverfront. “It’s about different colors, sustainable ingredients and not just: ‘Hey, let me squeeze an orange.’” In short, the difference between 2024 and 2014 is “night and day,” she notes.
Welcome to the modern cocktail culture where in-demand mixologists are part artists and performers. Like chefs, they must understand flavor profiles and how to blend sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami characteristics to produce a memorable beverage — whether it has alcohol or not.
A Spirited Evolution
After taking a backseat to beer and wine in the 1970s and 1980s, cocktails experienced a resurgence with 1990s martini bars. Sex & the City re-introduced the Cosmopolitan, which sidled up to the appletini and chocolate martini.
However, bartenders 15 years ago poured more shots and drafts, says Karen Nallie, the bar supervisor at The Quoin in downtown Wilmington. She began tending bar in 2012. “Back then, bars specializing in cocktails were few and far between,” she says. “The cocktail menus were just beginning to reflect more carefully crafted cocktails using higher-end ingredients.”
What’s old became new again when young customers discovered the Old Fashioned and Manhattan. Tony Bomba, owner of Dorcea, says the Old Fashioned is the most popular cocktail at the Mid-Town Brandywine eatery.
It’s a cyclical pattern, notes Andrew Charlton, a bartender at Eclipse in Wilmington’s Little Italy section. “The joke amongst our geeky cocktail circles is that everything is a derivation of four basic cocktails,” he says. “So, in some way or other, we always see a return to the classic.”
Admittedly, many have a 21st-century spin. For instance, The Quoin’s bartenders add Vermont maple syrup and a dash of Maldon salt to the Old Fashioned. Meanwhile, new products spark innovation. Richman points to broVos Spirits, which makes an herbal liqueur with an Alpine flavor profile. He says the product has become a hit given that Green Chartreuse has been in short supply.
Regardless of the spirit, cocktail sales are rising above beer and wine, says Nick Georigi, the beverage director for Platinum Dining, which owns Eclipse.
The Right Recipe
Georigi says restaurants must have a distinctive cocktail program. At Bardea Food & Drink, bartender Samantha Costa works with the chefs to cross-utilize ingredients and techniques. Interestingly, she often collaborates with the pastry chef.
She’s not alone. Successful beverage programs align with the kitchen’s mission. “The philosophy we follow at Columbus Inn in both food and beverage is using the highest quality and freshest ingredients to create the best dishes and cocktails,” says Hayla DeLano, the general manager. The new 1906 at Longwood Gardens, which has a bar and lounge, is also a prime example of this approach.
“While we were forming the idea of the cocktail program, everything just lent itself natural botanicals,” says Gareth Tootell, regional director of operations for Restaurant Associates, which manages Longwood’s food-and-beverage program. The restaurant’s Garden Tonic Collection is a riff on vodka tonics. The house-made tonic includes syrups infused with barks, botanicals, and floral essences.
Like Longwood’s displays, these botanicals change with the seasons, a practice not limited to fine dining. Even casual restaurants such as Grotto Pizza add new drinks to reflect the seasons. The Delaware-based restaurant recently unveiled the spiced apple mule and Tito’s Cranberry Punch (a portion of the proceeds benefit on Meals on Wheels.)
Curating a beverage menu takes time, particularly if it changes quarterly. Although many manufacturers provide recipes, Willie Anderson, beverage director at Torbert Street Social, prefers to create his own. Consider “Let that Man-Go,” a margarita with charred jalapeno-infused tequila, house mango cordial, vanilla simple syrup and passionfruit. The glass is rimmed in Tajin, a mild chili pepper, sea salt and lime seasoning.
Under the influence of botanicals and savory ingredients, cocktails have shifted from sweet to bitter and in between.
“The spritz has seen a big resurgence for not just Aperol, but other aperitifs and digestifs mixed with beer or club soda — instead of prosecco — to lower ABV but maximize flavor,” DeLano says.
She uses Columbus Inn’s Honey-Pear Spritz Martini as an example. It contains organic pear-infused vodka, house-made honey simple syrup, elderflower, and prosecco. Such recipes create a balance for those who find Aperol too bitter. Likewise, Dorcea in Mid-Town Brandywine makes flavored bitters to soften the sting.
At Snuff Mill Restaurant, Butchery & Wine Bar in Brandywine Hundred, Brian Burnett recently combined Aperol and grapefruit juice, topped with a luscious Champagne foam and sprinkled cinnamon-chili powder. When using seemingly disparate ingredients, the trick is to create harmony. Balance is essential.
“A drop of something can change the whole flavor profile,” Costa notes.
Capturing the Senses
Burnett’s additions are designed to enhance the fragrance, color, and presentation. Plus, they leave a pleasant, lingering taste on the tongue. In short, the goal is to create a multi-sensory experience, Georigi notes. When Hallak and Richman change the cocktail menu, they ensure a variety of spirits, colors and even glassware.
Garnishes go beyond the traditional citrus wheels. Before serving Bar Reverie’s “Drive me Sage-y” — made with sage-infused gin, black cherry and lemon — the bartenders torch sage and place the herb on the drink. When 1906 opened in October, a delicate purple orchid garnished the Herbal Highball, made with vodka, autumnal herbs, and house-made tonic water.
Smoke, however, is the trending ingredient. Burnett, a graduate of Aqua Vita Institute, a Philadelphia bartending school, uses a smoke topper to infuse a subtle wood flavor. He also places a glass upside down on charred wood, so smoke fills the receptacle. Then, he turns it right-side up and pours the spirit from a crystal carafe.
Both techniques demonstrate showmanship. “Things are more interactive,” Richman says. Customers inevitability perk up when there’s smoke and flame. When Bar Reverie opened, servers torched the chocolate martini’s marshmallow top at the table. Soon, the bar was overwhelmed with orders.
Cocktail recipes must be creative but “simple in execution and executed correctly,” Georigi says. “You don’t want a cocktail that takes 25 minutes to make.” There’s no room for improvising. About 90% of Eclipse’s cocktails are measured pours.
Anderson would approve. His staff always uses jiggers. “We’re trying to be as precise as possible,” he explains.
Using measuring tools also ensures customers receive the requisite amount, no matter the glass size.
Kitchen Confidential
Costa didn’t realize how much went into a cocktail until she was behind the bar. “For every 20 cocktail ideas you come up with, only one is produced.” And that takes effort, much of which occurs before the bar opens.
Torbert Street Social’s bartenders prepare syrups and cordials in advance. Burnett comes in early to make liqueurs, including the fig used in a smoked orange-fig Manhattan. He also ages tequila in a barrel cured with a chocolate-coffee-cayenne liqueur.
“It incorporates it all into one pre-batched cocktail,” he explains. Batching cocktails takes time but saves time in the long run.
Similarly, the 1906 bar staff uses the production kitchen to prep ingredients two days before. Not only do some require days to make, but the effort also ensures that bartenders won’t run out.
“It’s given us an opportunity to work in a smarter and more cohesive way,” Tootell explains.
The culinary emphasis has increased with the advent of the mocktail. Given that Longwood Gardens is all about plants, 1906 uses tea as the base for Herbal Elixirs. “Rustling the Leaves,” for instance, contains orange rooibos tea, demerara sugar and cranberry. “Spiced Silk” is made with chai and sweet cream.
Despite having only a few ingredients, preparing the mocktails is an elaborate process, Gareth says. Chai is strained three times to remove any particulate. It’s then blended with shelf-stable sweetened condensed milk, poured over crushed ice, splashed with club soda and finished with orange.
At Snuff Mill, Burnett has crafted versatile recipes that can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic, while at Bardea Food & Drink, customers choose from flavor profiles such as herbal, sweet, sour, spicy, and bitter. Then, the bartender whips up a special mocktail. “You’re never getting the same one twice,” Costa says.
What’s Coming
Mocktails will continue to increase in popularity, bartenders agree. “They’re no longer for people who’re lazily labeled as ‘not drinking,’” Charlton says. “It’s a lifestyle choice similar to vegetarianism. There’s no stigma.”
Costa concurs. Ordering a mocktail can be just as fun for the drinkers as the non-drinkers. “The fact you don’t have to feel pressured to drink is awesome,” she says.
Brands are releasing non-alcoholic spirits, including gin and vodka. “You can have an alcohol-free Old Fashioned, which is something I never thought would happen,” Richman says.
Columbus Inn offers alcohol-free red, white and sparkling wines, beer and seasonal beverages that are all alcohol-free. “I’ve also seen that lower alcohol cocktails and beers are becoming more popular,” DeLano says.
On the alcohol side, riffs on the classics are in vogue, according to Costa. A more recent classic, the espresso martini, is still the “star.” “She has not lost her place at the top.”
The drink has roots in the 1990s club culture, Charlton says. It was a wink-wink wake-me-up drink for bartenders after their shift. Many drinks from that era are returning. Hello, Cosmo!
To jazz things up, restaurants put a signature touch on the espresso martini. For instance, Dorcea uses foam to top both espresso and chocolate martinis. “It gives them a nice creaminess,” Bomba maintains.
Dwayne Foster, co-owner of the Mercury Café & Tearoom in Historic New Castle, uses fresh espresso for his version, which “eclipses all others,” he says.
Many bartenders specialize in custom cocktails, says Joseph Polecaro, the bartender at BBC Tavern in Greenville. If a customer enjoys Blanton’s oaked bourbon, he’ll create a cocktail based on preference, including sweetness, bitterness, acidity or overall texture. Burnett at Snuff Mill also enjoys customizing a drink for his patrons.
Costa says that bourbon is big this time of year. However, gin-based cocktails are on the rise, Foster adds. The Mercury’s Corpse Reviver Number 2 has seen an uptick in sales. The drink features gin, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto liqueur, orange liqueur, lemon, and absinthe.
Nallie of The Quoin predicts an uptick in cocktails with fortified wine — vermouth, port and sherry — as an ingredient or base. Agave-based spirits, such as tequila and mezcal, will continue to shine, she says.
However, the critical ingredient for any cocktail is the person who makes it. The lively interaction between Hallak, Richman, and their guests is the fun factor that sweetens the cocktail’s appeal.
“We make sure every person knows that we put our hearts and souls into every single cocktail we make,” Hallak says.
Above: Susan Hallak torches a garnish for one of her cocktail creations. Photo by Jim Coarse.
Pam George has been writing about Delaware’s dining scene for two decades, and in 2023 received a Community Impact Award from the Delaware Restaurant Association. She is also the author of Shipwrecks of the Delaware Coast: Tales of Pirates, Squalls and Treasure, Landmarks & Legacies: Exploring Historic Delaware, and First State Plates: Iconic Delaware Restaurants and Recipes. She lives in Wilmington and Lewes.